Kokosing Nature Preserve is a conservation burial ground located at 10620 Quarry Chapel Road in Gambier, Ohio. Many in the Kenyon community would remember this as the site of the former Tomahawk Golf Course. When the golf course was listed for sale in 2013, the Philander Chase Conservancy, Kenyon College’s land trust, felt it was imperative to protect this open green space in our community. Furthermore, the Conservancy saw this as an opportunity to provide a beautiful setting for green burial in Central Ohio. Designed by landscape architect Stephen Christy ’71, Kokosing Nature Preserve was dedicated in 2015 and offers a natural burial option on twenty-three acres of native prairie, ponds, wetlands and woodlands, less than a mile from Kenyon’s campus. The preserve also features stonework built by stonemason David Kridler ’75. Kenyon is currently the first and only college or university in the country with a certified green burial cemetery.
Green burial (also called natural burial) is a growing trend that hearkens back to a centuries-old tradition, emphasizing simplicity and a return to nature. In a natural burial, the body is placed in a biodegradable coffin or shroud, and is interred without the use of embalming fluid or a concrete burial vault. Over time, the gravesite returns to its undisturbed state, covered in prairie grasses and wildflowers, surrounded by trees and rolling farmland. A natural, engraved stone may be placed flat at the gravesite, but this is not required. Families may wish to plant wildflowers from an approved list of native species, and approved native species of trees may also be planted at some burial plots. Kokosing Nature Preserve also accepts cremated remains for burial or scattering.
The preserve is open every day, from dawn to dusk, and offers a park-like setting with mowed walking paths for all to enjoy the peacefulness and the beauty of the space. There is a central gravel path at the preserve, lined with maple trees and marked at its entrance by two stone pillars — an intentional nod to Kenyon’s own Middle Path. Anyone who is interested in being interred at the preserve may purchase interment rights in advance or at the time of need. Kokosing Nature Preserve is non-sectarian and committed to all principles of non-discrimination.
We look forward to highlighting Kokosing Nature Preserve in future issues of this newsletter and encourage anyone interested in learning more about purchasing interment rights to contact us at 740-427-5040 or at info@kokosingnaturepreserve.org.
To support the work of Kokosing Nature Preserve, you can make a tax-deductible gift online.